Finding God's glorious in the mundane of life

When I was pregnant with Tera, I experienced a small rough patch between weeks 6-10. I had slight nausea and I was pretty exhausted. At the time, I thought it was pretty bad.

Until this pregnancy rolled around.

You guys. With this pregnancy, it hit. And it didn’t go away. I would be driving down the road and have to barf. I would have to barf while just laying on the couch. I would have to barf in the evening, in the morning, in the night. Thankfully, I actually only threw up occasionally. But I literally carried a trash can around because I was pretty sure it was going to happen more than that. So I realize that even though I felt like it couldn’t be any worse, there are women who struggle so much more with the first trimester than I do.

As soon as most people found out about my pregnancy, they asked how I was feeling. And since I’m such an honest person, I would usually respond, “Awful”.

To which they would respond: “Oh, have you tried _________? That worked for me!”

Guys, I tried to take it all with a grain of salt. I really did. I tried to listen and nod my head and most of the time, I really appreciated the advice and tried it! I thought I would write up a quick little post for morning sickness remedies, and also write a little bit about what worked for me.

Preggo Pops. (Yay and Nay). These didn’t really help me feel any better, but I did love them! I would throw a few in my purse whenever I had to be out in public. While they didn’t curb the nausea, it did help me keep it down and took away some of my fear of being in public.

Exercise. (Nay). I was told that if I got up and did some light exercise, I would feel better. Well, let me tell you…I would nearly barf on my sneakers tie-ing them. And I do actually enjoy walking and running, so it wasn’t that I didn’t want to!

Ginger Tea, Ginger Drops or Ginger Seasoning(Nay). I’ve always hated ginger, so I was especially wary of even trying this one. It didn’t work. One time I was feeling so sick and I finally asked Theo to make me some ginger and lemon tea, hoping it would make me feel better. The moment Theo walked into the room with that cup of tea, I told him to go dump it out.

Sea Bands. (Yay). I ordered these off Amazon just because I was so desperate to find something that worked. The day they arrived in the mail I tried them on and that was the best day I had in the pregnancy so far. I’ve worn them pretty much 24/7 since I got them at 7 weeks. I am still wearing them as I type this post at 16 weeks. I highly recommend them!!!

Gum. (Yay!). My first pregnancy, chewing gum was the only trick I needed to stay sane through the first trimester. This certainly helped this time, too, but it wasn’t the cure-all I was hoping it was. A lot of people recommend mint or ginger gum, but I hate both of those flavors when I’m not in my first trimester, so even the thought of that didn’t work for me. So I just stuck with my regular ‘ol fruit gum, and it did the trick (mostly).

Apple Cider Vinegar. (Nay). I tried to drink some water with ACV in it, and I literally had to run to the bathroom after taking a sip. Nope. Nope, nope, nope.

Vitamin B6. (Nay-ish). I heard somewhere that Vitamin B6 was supposed to help curb nausea. What I didn’t realize was that the winning combination is Vitamin B6 with Unisom (both are available over the counter). The problem is that Unisom is a “drowsy drug” and somehow the two work together if you take them at the correct times.

Eat protein. (Yay). I think this piece of advice made my the grumpiest. I wanted to say, “I CAN’T EAT ANYTHING, WHY WOULD I PICK CHICKEN/CHEESE/PROTEIN????” But I tried it. And it helped. It really did. I found that even if I felt sick right after eating, I was always able to keep it down and I could feel better for longer.

Eat every 2 hours. (Yay.). I also thought this was the ridiculous piece of advice. I wanted a pill, a shot, ANYTHING that would make me feel better that didn’t involve ingesting anything into my upset stomach. Eating every two hours sounded awful. But I tried it one day…and it was magic! The trick is that my stomach didn’t get empty, so it didn’t have a chance to feel sick, either. And the extra trick was to combine this point with the one above. Eat protein every two hours.

Keep crackers/water by your bed and eat something before getting out of bed. (Yay). I guess this one worked, but I have found that my “morning” sickness is actually more “evening” sickness. I don’t struggle that much with feeling sick in the morning, but I kept the crackers by the bed and ate a few in the evening and in the night when I was up with Little Miss.

Diclegis. (YAYYYY!). Finally, after trying all of the above things, I turned to a prescription med. Diclegis is actually Vitamin B6 and Unisom in a delayed-release capsule. I had a friend give me some and when it worked, I asked my OB for a prescription. This was the final trick that actually worked for me. Except the drowsy factor. It made me SO drowsy. I would have to take 2-3 hour naps during the day when I took the pill. Naps that length are not always possible, so that was a little rough. I finally got to the point where I could wean off of it and only take it at night, which really helped with the drowsiness. Now I’m taking it every other night and hoping to stop taking it completely soon! Woot woot!

Another piece of advice that I really appreciated was to not worry about my health or the baby’s health during the rough patches of the first trimester. I’m an overachiever, and I felt like I need to be healthy and continue with an awesome exercise routine. But someone told me to just not worry about it for the time being. While I don’t encourage eating unhealthy and giving up exercise if you feel alright, I do encourage letting yourself off the hook in those super rough first 10-15 weeks. If you can only keep down a pack of Ramen noodles, keep down a pack of Ramen noodles. If you can’t work out, don’t work out. Once you hit the second trimester you can re-evaluate if you feel better, or if you need to push through. Try your hardest to be healthy, but don’t be ashamed of spending the first 12 weeks on the couch with a trash can next to you.

I know I sure did.

***Please note: there is a difference between morning sickness and hyperemesis, so please don’t confuse the two. I had bad morning sickness this time around.

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Welcome!

Hi! I'm Suzanne. Wife to Theo, Mom to Tera Evelynne and the foster children that God has chosen for our home (and I can't leave out fur baby Moose)
Through this blog, I aim to open up and share my life: goals, dreams, aspirations, and daily life-- both the messes and successes!
Sometimes life can feel mundane- but I believe that God can make even the most mundane life bring him glory!
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